Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterization of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) diets in the Canadian High Arctic

Polar Biology volume 38, pages 1983–1992 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Climate-driven changes in the quality and availability of sea ice habitat (e.g., spatial extent, thickness, and duration of open water) are expected to affect Arctic species primarily through altered foraging opportunities. However, trophic interactions in Arctic marine systems are often poorly understood, especially in remote high-latitude regions. We used quantitative fatty acid signature analysis to examine the diets of 198 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) harvested between 2010 and 2012 in the subpopulations of Baffin Bay, Gulf of Boothia, and Lancaster Sound. The objective was to characterize diet composition and identify ecological factors supporting the high density of polar bears in these regions. Polar bears across the study area fed primarily on ringed seals (Pusa hispida, 41–56 %), although bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus, 11–24 %) and beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas, 15–19 %) were also important prey. Harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) were a major food source in Baffin Bay. Dietary diversity was greatest in Baffin Bay, perhaps because marine mammals were attracted to the nutrient-rich waters in and downstream from the North Water Polynya. Foraging patterns differed across age and sex classes of polar bear. In Baffin Bay, adult females had high levels of bearded seal in their diet, whereas adult males and subadults consumed high levels of harp seal. Seasonal variation in polar bear foraging was related to known migration patterns of marine mammals. Our results add to existing evidence that polar bears in these three separate subpopulations have a shared conservation status.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

References

  • Amstrup SC (2003) Polar bear, Ursus maritimus. In: Feldhamer GA, Thompson BC, Chapman JA (eds) Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation, 2nd edn. Johns Hopkins Unversity Press, Baltimore, pp 587–610

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ (2001a) Permutation tests for univariate or multivariate analysis of variance and regression. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 58:626–639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson MJ (2001b) A new method for non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance. Austral Ecol 26:32–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson SN, Stirling I, Ramsay MA (1996) Growth in early life and relative body size among adult polar bears (Ursus maritimus). J Zool 239:225–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beck CA, Iverson SJ, Bowen WD, Blanchard W (2007) Sex differences in grey seal diet reflect seasonal variation in foraging behaviour and reproductive expenditure: evidence from quantitative fatty acid signature analysis. J Anim Ecol 76:490–502

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Best NJ, Bradshaw CJA, Hindell MA, Nichols PD (2003) Vertical stratification of fatty acids in the blubber of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina): implications for diet analysis. Comp Biochem Physiol Part B 134:253–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Born EW, Teilmann J, Acquarone M, Riget FF (2004) Habitat use of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in the North Water Area (North Baffin Bay). Arctic 57:129–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowen WD (1997) Role of marine mammals in aquatic ecosystems. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 158:267–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Budge SM, Iverson SJ, Bowen WD, Ackman RG (2002) Among- and within-species variability in fatty acid signatures of marine fish and invertebrates on the Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank, and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 59:886–898

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Budge SM, Iverson SJ, Koopman HN (2006) Studying trophic ecology in marine ecosystems using fatty acids: a primer on analysis and interpretation. Mar Mamm Sci 22:759–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Budge SM, Springer AM, Iverson SJ, Sheffield G, Rosa C (2008) Blubber fatty acid composition of bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus: implications for diet assessment and ecosystem monitoring. J Exp Mar Bio Ecol 359:40–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calvert W, Stirling I (1990) Interactions between polar bears and overwintering walruses in the central Canadian High Arctic. Bears Their Biol Manag 8:351–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS, Walker BH, Hobbs RJ, Hooper DU, Lawton JH, Sala OE, Tilman D (1997) Biotic control over the functioning of ecosystems. Science 277:500–504

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • COSEWIC (2008) COSEWIC Assessment and update status report on the polar bear Ursus maritimus in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, Ottawa

  • Derocher AE, Wiig Ø, Andersen M (2002) Diet composition of polar bears in Svalbard and the western Barents Sea. Mar Mamm Sci 25:448–452

    Google Scholar 

  • Derocher AE, Lunn NJ, Stirling I (2004) Polar bears in a warming climate. Integr Comp Biol 44:163–176

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Derocher AE, Andersen M, Wiig Ø (2005) Sexual dimorphism of polar bears. J Mamm 86:895–901

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derocher AE, Andersen M, Wiig Ø, Aars J (2010) Sexual dimorphism and the mating ecology of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) at Svalbard. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64:939–946

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DFO (2011) Current status of northwest Atlantic harp seals, (Pagophilus groenlandicus). DFO Can Sci Advis Sec Sci Advis Rep 2011/050

  • Finley KJ, Bradstreet MSW, Miller GW (1990) Summer feeding ecology of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) in relation to Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) in the Canadian High Arctic. Polar Biol 10:609–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Good P (2000) Permutation tests: a practical guide to resampling methods for testing hypotheses, 2nd edn. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton SG, Castro de la Guardia L, Derocher AE, Sahanatien V, Tremblay B, Huard D (2014) Projected polar bear sea ice habitat in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. PLoS One 9:e113746

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heide-Jørgensen MP, Richard P, Dietz R, Laidre KL, Orr J, Schmidt HC (2003) An estimate of the fraction of belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Canadian High Arctic that winter in West Greenland. Polar Biol 26:318–326

    Google Scholar 

  • Heide-Jørgensen MP, Burt LM, Hansen RG, Nielsen NH, Rasmussen M, Fossette S, Stern H (2013) The significance of the North Water Polynya to arctic top predators. Ambio 42:596–610

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holland MM, Bitz CM, Tremblay B (2006) Future abrupt reductions in the summer Arctic sea ice. Geophys Res Lett 33:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson SJ, Lang SL, Cooper MH (2001) Comparison of the Bligh and Dyer and Folch methods for total lipid determination in a broad range of marine tissue. Lipids 36:1283–1287

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson SJ, Field C, Bowen WD, Blanchard W (2004) Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis: a new method of estimating predator diets. Ecol Monogr 74:211–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iverson SJ, Stirling I, Lang SLC (2006) Spatial and temporal variation in the diets of polar bears across the Canadian Arctic: indicators of changes in prey populations and environment. In: Boyd IL, Wanless S, Camphuysen CJ (eds) Top predators in marine ecosystems. Cambridge, New York, pp 114–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Iverson SJ, Springer AM, Kitaysky A (2007) Seabirds as indicators of food web structure and ecosystem variability: qualitative and quantitative diet analyses using fatty acids. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 352:235–244

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kiliaan HPL, Stirling I (1978) Observations on overwintering walruses in the eastern Canadian High Arctic. J Mamm 59:197–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingsley MCS, Stirling I, Calvert W (1985) The distribution and abundance of seals in the Canadian High Arctic, 1980–82. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 42:1189–1210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koopman HN, Iverson SJ, Gaskin DE (1996) Stratification and age-related differences in blubber fatty acids of the male harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). J Comp Physiol B 165:628–639

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Laidre KL, Stirling I, Lowry LF, Wiig Ø, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Ferguson SH (2008) Quantifying the sensitivity of Arctic marine mammals to climate-induced habitat change. Ecol Appl 18:S97–S125

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lowry LF, Burns JJ, Nelson RR (1987) Polar bear, Ursus maritimus, predation on belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in the Bering and Chukchi seas. Can Field-Nat 101:141–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield AW (1967) Distribution of the harbor seal, Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, in Canadian Arctic waters. J Mamm 48:249–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslanik J, Stroeve J, Fowler C, Emery W (2011) Distribution and trends in Arctic sea ice age through spring 2011. Geophys Res Lett 38:L13502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney MA, Iverson SJ, Fisk AT, Sonne C, Rigét FF, Letcher RJ, Arts MT, Born EW, Rosing-Asvid A, Dietz R (2013) Global change effects on the long-term feeding ecology and contaminant exposures of East Greenland polar bears. Glob Change Biol 19:2360–2372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meynier L, Morel PCH, Chilvers BL, Mackenzie DDS, Duignan PJ (2010) Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis on New Zealand sea lions: model sensitivity and diet estimates. Am Soc Mamm 91:1484–1495

    Google Scholar 

  • Molnár PK, Derocher AE, Klanjscek T, Lewis MA (2011) Predicting climate change impacts on polar bear litter size. Nat Commun 2:186

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom C, Wilson L, Iverson SJ, Tollit D (2008) Evaluating quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) using harbour seals Phoca vitulina richardsi in captive feeding studies. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 360:245–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obbard ME, Thiemann GW, Peacock E, DeBruyn TD (eds) (2010) Polar bears: proceedings of the 15th working meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group, 29 June–3 July 2009, Copenhagen, Denmark. Occassional Paper of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, No. 43. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK

  • Peacock E, Derocher AE, Thiemann GW, Stirling I (2011) Conservation and management of Canada’s polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in a changing Arctic. Can J Zool 89:371–385

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peacock E, Sonsthagen SA, Obbard ME, Boltunov A, Regehr EV, Ovsyanikov N, Aars J, Atkinson SN, Sage GK, Hope AG, Zeyl E, Bachmann L, Ehrich D, Scribner KT, Amstrup A, Belikov S, Born EW, Derocher AE, Stirling I, Taylor MK, Wiig Ø, Paetkau D, Talbot SL (2015) Implications of the circumpolar genetic structure of polar bears for their conservation in a rapidly warming Arctic. PLoS One 10:e112021

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perovich DK, Richter-Menge JA (2009) Loss of sea ice in the Arctic. Ann Rev Mar Sci 1:417–441

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pilfold NW, Derocher AE, Stirling I, Richardson E (2015) Multi-temporal factors influence predation for polar bears in a changing climate. Oikos. doi:10.1111/oik.02000

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomerleau C, Lesage V, Winkler G, Rosenberg B, Ferguson SH (2014) Contemporary diet of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) from the eastern Canadian Arctic inferred from fatty acid biomarkers. Arctic 67:84–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2013). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org

  • R Development Core Team (2005). R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://R-project.org

  • Regehr EV, Lunn NJ, Amstrup SC, Stirling I (2007) Effects of earlier sea ice breakup on survival and population size of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay. J Wildl Manage 71:2673–2683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richard PR, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Orr JR, Dietz R, Smith TG (2001) Summer and autumn movements and habitat use by belugas in the Canadian High Arctic and adjacent areas. Arctic 54:207–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Rode KD, Peacock E, Taylor M, Stirling I, Born EW, Laidre KL, Wiig Ø (2012) A tale of two polar bear populations: ice habitat, harvest, and body condition. Popul Ecol 54:3–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rode KD, Regehr EV, Douglas DC, Durner G, Derocher AE, Thiemann GW, Budge SM (2014) Variation in the response of an Arctic top predator experiencing habitat loss: feeding and reproductive ecology of two polar bear populations. Glob Change Biol 20:76–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sahanatien V, Derocher AE (2012) Monitoring sea ice habitat fragmentation for polar bear conservation. Anim Conserv 15:397–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Screen JA, Simmonds I (2010) The central role of diminishing sea ice in recent Arctic temperature amplification. Nature 464:1334–1337

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sergeant DE (1991) Harp seals, man and ice. Can Spec Publ Fish Aquat Sci 114:153

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith TG (1980) Polar bear predation of ringed and bearded seals in the land-fast sea ice habitat. Can J Zool 58:2201–2209

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith TG, Martin AR (1994) Distribution and movements of belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, in the Canadian High Arctic. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 51:1653–1663

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith TG, Sjare B (1990) Predation of belugas and narwhals by polar bears in nearshore areas of the Canadian High Arctic. Arctic 43:99–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart DB, Akeeagok A, Amarualik R, Panipakutsuk S, Taqtu A (1995) Local knowledge of beluga and narwhal from four communities in Arctic Canada. Can Tech Rep Fish Aquat Sci 2065

  • Stirling I (1980) The biological importance of polynyas in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic 33:303–315

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I (1997) The importance of polynyas, ice edges, and leads to marine mammals and birds. J Mar Syst 10:9–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, Archibald WR (1977) Aspects of predation of seals by polar bears. J Fish Res Board Can 34:1126–1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, Derocher AE (1993) Possible impacts of climatic warming on polar bears. Arctic 46:240–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, Derocher AE (2012) Effects of climate warming on polar bears: a review of the evidence. Glob Change Biol 18:2694–2706

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, McEwan EH (1975) The caloric value of whole ringed seals (Phoca hispida) in relation to polar bear (Ursus maritimus) ecology and hunting behavior. Can J Zool 53:1021–1027

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stirling I, Øritsland NA (1995) Relationships between estimated of ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) populations in the Canadian Arctic. Arctic 2612:2594–2612

    Google Scholar 

  • Stroeve J, Holland MM, Meier W, Scambos T, Serreze M (2007) Arctic sea ice decline: faster than forecast. Geophys Res Lett 34:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stroeve JC, Maslanik J, Serreze MC, Rigor I, Meier W, Fowler C (2011) Sea ice response to an extreme negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation during winter 2009/2010. Geophys Res Lett 38:L02502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiemann GW, Budge SM, Iverson SJ, Stirling I (2007) Unusual fatty acid biomarkers reveal age- and sex-specific foraging in polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Can J Zool 85:505–517

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thiemann GW, Iverson SJ, Stirling I (2008a) Polar bear diets and Arctic marine food webs: insights from fatty acid analysis. Ecol Monogr 78:591–613

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiemann GW, Iverson SJ, Stirling I (2008b) Variation in blubber fatty acid composition among marine mammals in the Canadian Arctic. Mar Mamm Sci 24:91–111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thiemann GW, Derocher AE, Stirling I (2008c) Polar bear Ursus maritimus conservation in Canada: an ecological basis for identifying designatable units. Oryx 42:504–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thiemann GW, Iverson SJ, Stirling I, Obbard ME (2011) Individual patterns of prey selection and dietary specialization in an Arctic marine carnivore. Oikos 120:1469–1478

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welch HE, Bergmann MA, Siferd TD, Martin KA, Curtis MF, Crawford RE, Conover RJ, Hop H (1992) Flow through the marine of the energy ecosystem Lancaster Sound region, Arctic Canada. Arctic 45:343–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young BG, Loseto LL, Ferguson SH (2010) Diet differences among age classes of Arctic seals: evidence from stable isotope and mercury biomarkers. Polar Biol 33:153–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are especially grateful to the Hunters and Trappers Associations and Organizations of Nunavut for collecting fat samples from polar bears and marine mammals harvested during their subsistence hunts. A. Coxon and P. Frame (Government of Nunavut–Department of Environment) helped coordinate the collection, organization, and shipment of polar bear samples. Thanks to B. Dunn, B. Young (Fisheries and Oceans Canada), D. Muir, and X. Wang (Environment Canada) for providing additional marine mammal seal samples. S. Budge and C. Barry (Dalhousie University) conducted the gas chromatography. I. Stirling and A. Derocher provided helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This project was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC, Canada), Environment Canada (Grants and Contributions), Kenneth M. Molson Foundation, Nunavut General Monitoring Plan, Northern Scientific Training Program, and York University, Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Melissa P. Galicia

  2. Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Gregory W. Thiemann

  3. Wildlife Research Section, Department of Environment, Government of Nunavut, P.O. Box 209, Igloolik, NT, X0A 0L0, Canada

    Markus G. Dyck

  4. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Steven H. Ferguson

Authors
  1. Melissa P. Galicia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gregory W. Thiemann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Markus G. Dyck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Steven H. Ferguson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Melissa P. Galicia.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 105 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOCX 19 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Galicia, M.P., Thiemann, G.W., Dyck, M.G. et al. Characterization of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) diets in the Canadian High Arctic. Polar Biol 38, 1983–1992 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1757-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-015-1757-1

Keywords

search

Navigation